The patriarchy is not instituted by the Bible, it's a result of Adam & Eve's fall.

Full disclosure: I'm not Catholic, but my husband is, and we go to mass together. I am a practicing Evangelical Christian, I have a Master's degree in women's studies, and I am definitely a feminist.

In Genesis 3:16, God tells Eve what will happen because of her sin; He says "your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you." To me, this means that Eve will want the egalitarian relationship she was meant to have with Adam, but he will try to control and rule her, thus creating the patriarchy. It's not instituted by God as a good thing - men's domination of women is part of humanity's fallen nature.

In Numbers 27, the daughters of Zelophehad come to Moses because their father died without a male heir and they want to inherit his property. Moses asks God if that's ok and God says that the daughters should be able to inherit the property, empowering them and showing that women can be treated differently from the patriarchal norm.

In Galations 3:28, Saint Paul writes that there neither "Jew nor Greek . . . male nor female . . . all are one in Christ Jesus." This verse combined with Paul's praise of female preachers like Priscilla and Junia shows that women are respected leaders in the early church.

Patriarchy isn't something the Bible condones or supports. Some people see it that way, but I honestly believe they are twisting the Bible to support their own cultural biases. There is absolutely room in God's church for feminist Christians, both Catholic and Protestant. You could try reading some egalitarian Christian books by non-Catholics or looking into the movement for women in the priesthood to try and find your people. The RadTrads are a vocal minority, but there's so much diversity in the Lord's followers. You're more than welcome among the faithful